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My budget is somewhere around $750-850. I would just like some input on what I have selected. I already have a Pioneer DVD-RW drive, and a 1TB external HD, so the internal 320GB should be fine.

Some specific questions I have: Is everything compatible (so far, to me, it looks like it is)?Am I fine with the specific Mobo, CPU, and video card I have selected? Do any of you have any gripes with them?Is the Corsair PSU a good choice, and is 550W enough?Am I missing anything that I would need when building this?

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Troy

Posted 15 August 2009 - 11:48 PM

Corsair is an excellent choice, 550W should be enough for this build as this PSU also has a hefty output on the +12V rail.

Whenever you're building a new system, you'll want to look up the motherboard on the manufacturer's website and make sure you can see the CPU you have selected in the CPU Support List.

Also, for the graphics card, have a look at the Tom's Hardware VGA Chart and compare cards up and down the tiers, and their prices. You might find a better performing card for a few dollars more (or less!)

The one thing that really stands out to me is the pricing of that motherboard. Considering everything else is cheaper, I'm sure you could find a board with all the features you want for less than that.

After talking with a friend, I decided to go with a Quad-core, since I do multi-task a LOT. And you were right about the video cards. The ATI HD 4870 is slightly better than the 9800 GTX+, plus it is 2gb and only a bit more! I also decided to stick with XP for now, and forget the added price for Vista. This way I can get a better computer that is more in my price range. I looked on Asus site, the mobo and CPU are compatible. So:

How does everything look now, any recommendations or advice on anything?The more specific question I have is, is the 550W PSU man enough to handle this, or would I need to upgrade that to support this beast?

Troy

Posted 16 August 2009 - 05:11 AM

PB Andy

Posted 16 August 2009 - 02:22 PM

PB Andy

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7 posts

Hey guys thanks for your responses.

After looking for different combo deals, for some reason I can't find memory + CPU combo deals anymore on Newegg. So I went with this route: a CPU + GPU combo deal, and then a Mobo + RAM combo deal.1. Decided to go with a AM3 mobo, and AMD Phenom II X3. I figured I multi-task enough for a triple core, but not enough to warrant a quad-core. The clock speed is fast for that one too (2.8Ghz).2. I also upgraded to a ATI Radeon HD4890 (1Gb), because this was a combo deal with the CPU so I'm saving some money here.3. Going with just 4gb of DDR3, I don't think I need more than that, for now at least.

Troy

Posted 16 August 2009 - 07:54 PM

Troy

Tech Staff

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8,839 posts

He was talking about a CPU cooler, in which case an aftermarket cooler might be handy if you are going to overclock. Otherwise just make sure the CPU comes with a cooler in the box, and you'll be fine.

PB Andy

Posted 16 August 2009 - 08:09 PM

PB Andy

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7 posts

He was talking about a CPU cooler, in which case an aftermarket cooler might be handy if you are going to overclock. Otherwise just make sure the CPU comes with a cooler in the box, and you'll be fine.

Thanks. I am planning to unlock my 4th core of the CPU since my mobo should work for that (hopefully, with some luck), so I'll invest in a compatible CPU cooler.

PB Andy

Posted 16 August 2009 - 09:54 PM

Also I've never had any experience unlocking cores (never needed to) so I'd be interested to hear how you go with it.

Troy

Sorry about that, only somewhat knowledgeable on these things... OK so I'll order these and after attempting to unlock the 4th core I'll come back here and report. Also, went with the Scythe KATANA3 CPU cooler, it was one of the few coolers that was AM3 compatible.

PB Andy

Posted 21 August 2009 - 01:54 PM

PB Andy

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Pictures as requested:

Antec 300 case

Close-up of the Scythe Katana3 CPU Cooler

Inside1

Inside2

Cable management is not the greatest. 1, Corsair PSU have a CRAP LOAD of cables! 2, Antec 300 is not as big as I thought. 3, I should have plugged everything in at the end. I may do this sometime in the future with this computer, but definitely not soon. I spent about 8-9 hours putting it together because it was my first time building a computer. Did a lot of trial and error, and there were a few episodes of me not doing [bleep] for an hour because I was clueless and started watching TV. After reading the manuals for the Case and Mobo, it became clearer and I finally got this thing running. The CPU cooler looks [bleep]ing AWESOME. Running on Vista Prem. 64-bit, waiting on that Windows 7... Also, I may add a sound card in the future (the Omega 7.1 most likely).

I've decided not to unlock the 4th core because it will probably won't work with my board, but more importantly it is disabled for a reason, and may be unstable or something. I think I'm better off just overclocking it.